Blue Devils Top 100-point Mark in Exhibition OpenerRodney Hood registered 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists to lead Duke to a 103-67 exhibition win over Bowie State in Duke’s first preseason exhibition game Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Hood was one of four Blue Devils to reach double figures in scoring in the contest, leading freshmen Jabari Parker (16 points) and Matt Jones (15) and sophomore Amile Jefferson (15). Parker added four rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals.

The Blue Devils finished the contest with 20 assists against nine turnovers, while shooting 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field. Jefferson, Hood and Parker combined to shoot 18-of-26 (.692) from the field, including 16-of-19 (.842) from inside the three-point arc.

Duke locked in on the defensive end of the floor in the second half with continuous ball pressure and active hands. Senior Tyler Thornton made a series of plays to help the Blue Devils extend their lead early in the half. After diving to tip a loose ball to a teammate for a fast break layup, he followed up with a couple more deflections that led to layups and fouls. Thornton finished the game with five points, four assists and four steals.

The Blue Devils forced 23 turnovers for the game and outscored Bowie State 27-9 in points off turnovers.

Duke had 12 players score Saturday with 11 players earning 10 or more minutes of action. Andre Dawkins, who missed practice time this week while nursing a lower back injury, also played nine minutes for the Blue Devils.

Duke Hosts DII Champ Drury in Final Exhibition GameDuke plays its final exhibition game Saturday, Nov. 2 against 2013 Division II national champion Drury. The game will be shown on GoDuke.com through Blue Devil Network Plus is scheduled to tipoff at 1pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Panthers registered a historic run a year ago, as coach Steve Hesser's squad won its final 23 games and captured its first NCAA national championship with a 74-73 victory over Metro State in the title game in Atlanta, Georgia. That capped a 31-4 season for the Panthers, who also established a school record by winning their final 23 games - failing to drop a contest after a 72-69 setback at the University of Indianapolis in Great Lakes Valley Conference play on January 10.

Drury returns a pair of starters in guard Drake Patterson (5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds) and forward Ian Carter (9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds) as well as key reserve forward Cameron Adams (9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds) from last year's championship squad. The Panthers averaged 81.3 points per game a year ago, while shooting 51.3 percent from the field. Drury was also outstanding from long distance in 2012-13, finishing the year with 294 three-point field goals, while shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc.

Ojeleye’s DunkOne of the most impressive plays of Duke’s 2013-14 season may also be one of the least viewed. If not for the team’s practice footage, only those in attendance at Duke’s closed practice last week would have seen the monster half-court alley-oop dunk that freshman forward Semi Ojeleye threw down in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It’s an impressive display of Ojeleye’s athleticism and warranted enough attention to be republished by Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports. The link to the video, captured by Duke Blue Planet, is below:

NBA Season Tips Off TuesdayThe 2013-14 NBA season opens Tuesday, Oct. 29 and once again Duke will be well represented in the league. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has placed 42 players in the NBA over his career at Duke. This season 15 former Blue Devils will appear on opening-night rosters.

Cook Named to Cousy Watch ListDuke junior Quinn Cook has been named to the 2014 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame committee. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men’s college basketball.

Cook earned third team All-ACC (ACSMA) honors last season while averaging 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. The Washington, D.C., native finished second in the ACC in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4:1), fifth in steals (1.4 spg.) and ninth in minutes (33.6 mpg.), while starting 34 of Duke’s 36 contests. Cook scored in double-figures 21 times a year ago with three games with 20-or-more points and also added three double-digit assist contests. He also developed into a reliable perimeter weapon, knocking down 55 three-point field goals while shooting 39.3 percent from behind the arc.

This watch list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 in early February, then final five by early March.

Countdown to Craziness Intros ReplayA replay of the high-energy on-court video and player introductions from Countdown to Craziness Presented by PNC is now available on GoDuke.com, courtesy of Blue Devil Network. The introductions have become a tradition at Countdown to Craziness, and this year's edition included a special twist to the on-court hype video. Check out the link below to watch how the Blue Devils introduced themselves to the Cameron Crazies.